EXPERTS have uncovered a dangerous bunch of apps which prey on vulnerable people suffering with money troubles.
Vicious fraudsters lend money but secretly steal data and threaten you with extremely high interest rates later down the line.
The apps aren’t available on the official Google Play Store.
Instead, they lurk on the wider internet where their dubious intentions are harder to detect.
These tend to be found via social media, compromised websites, rogue ads, and phishing messages.
Despite this, cybersecurity firm Zimperium estimates they’ve been downloaded more than 100,000 times.
They promise quick money in a few short steps.
It’s part of a campaign termed “MoneyMonger” which requests certain permissions on your phone.
The “predatory” apps claim it’s to check you have a good standing to receive the loan.
“This gives the victim confidence to enable the very revealing local permissions on the devices, enabling the malicious actors to steal private information from the endpoint,” Zimperium explains.
In the background, the apps get hold of all sorts with permission to access the camera, contact list, GPS location data, sound recordings, call logs, text messages and files stored on your phone.
Then the nasty bit kicks in.
If the person doesn’t pay on time – or even after the loan is repaid – the attackers threaten to reveal sensitive information.
They scare victims by saying they will call…
